High-Speed Rail

Ben Chapman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent discussions he has had on proposals for a high-speed rail link between the North West and London.

Chris Mole: The Secretary of State and my ministerial colleagues meet regularly with key stakeholders to discuss a range of transport issues, including high speed rail.
	The Secretary of State was in Manchester on Wednesday 21 October 2009 at the Northern Regeneration Summit, where he engaged with a range of organisations and regional bodies, and provided the keynote speech, on high speed rail.
	I also engaged with stakeholders across the North West, Yorkshire and Humber as part of my rail tour of those regions in September.

High-Speed Rail

Mr. Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent progress has been made on consideration of proposals for a high-speed rail hub at Birmingham International Airport.

Chris Mole: "High Speed Two" has been formed to help develop the case for high speed rail services. As a first stage, High Speed Two will report by the end of the year with for a proposed route from London to the West Midlands. This will include consideration of a range of route options as well as access to central London and the other cities served.

Departmental Rail Travel

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on first class rail travel for officials since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Department's officials have spent a total of £217,425 on first class rail travel since the inception of the Department on 3 October 2008.

Energy: Meters

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to ensure that energy companies work with local authorities to deliver the smart metering scheme.

David Kidney: holding answer  19 October  2009
	The Government recently published a consultation on smart metering for electricity and gas. This included questions on a range of delivery and deployment options. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course. Following the government response work will commence on detailed preparation for the full roll out of smart meters.

Bigamy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) offences of bigamy have been recorded and  (b) how many people have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted for offences related to bigamy in each police force area in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: The Home Office has responsibility for the police recorded crime statistics and figures for the number of offences of bigamy recorded by the police are given in Tables 1-3.
	Court proceedings statistics are collected by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. Table 4 shows the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for bigamy in England and Wales from 1997 to 2007 (latest available). Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
	The police recorded crime data is based on the number of offences recorded in each financial year. Court proceedings data is based on the number of offenders. These data are published on a calendar year basis and are counts of persons classified by their principal offence. For these reasons the two datasets are not directly comparable.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences of bigamy recorded by the police 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  1997 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 
			 Bedfordshire 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 
			 Cheshire 1 
			 Cleveland 1 
			 Cumbria 0 
			 Derbyshire 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 
			 Dorset 1 
			 Durham 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 
			 Essex 1 
			 Gloucestershire 0 
			 Greater Manchester 2 
			 Gwent 0 
			 Hampshire 1 
			 Hertfordshire 0 
			 Humberside 0 
			 Kent 3 
			 Lancashire 1 
			 Leicestershire 0 
			 Lincolnshire 2 
			 London, City of 0 
			 Merseyside 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 48 
			 Norfolk 0 
			 Northamptonshire 0 
			 Northumbria 0 
			 North Wales 0 
			 North Yorkshire 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 
			 South Wales 0 
			 South Yorkshire 0 
			 Staffordshire 1 
			 Suffolk 1 
			 Surrey 1 
			 Sussex 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 
			 Warwickshire 0 
			 West Mercia 0 
			 West Midlands 4 
			 West Yorkshire 1 
			 Wiltshire 0 
			 England and Wales 75 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences of bigamy recorded by the police( 1, 2) 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 6 4 4 0 
			 Bedfordshire 0 2 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 0 2 0 
			 Cheshire 1 1 0 0 
			 Cleveland 0 0 0 1 
			 Cumbria 2 0 0 1 
			 Derbyshire 3 1 4 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 0 3 2 
			 Dorset 0 0 1 3 
			 Durham 0 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 
			 Essex 1 2 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 1 0 0 2 
			 Greater Manchester 4 0 5 2 
			 Gwent 3 0 1 2 
			 Hampshire 2 2 3 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 1 1 
			 Humberside 1 0 1 0 
			 Kent 2 3 2 2 
			 Lancashire 2 0 1 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 0 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 1 0 1 0 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 3 1 2 1 
			 Metropolitan Police 62 41 33 39 
			 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 1 2 
			 Northumbria 0 2 0 1 
			 North Wales 1 1 0 2 
			 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 0 1 1 
			 South Wales 2 1 1 0 
			 South Yorkshire 0 1 1 0 
			 Staffordshire 1 2 1 0 
			 Suffolk 2 2 0 1 
			 Surrey 2 0 2 1 
			 Sussex 7 2 4 3 
			 Thames Valley 1 5 1 1 
			 Warwickshire 0 1 0 0 
			 West Mercia 4 1 1 0 
			 West Midlands 4 4 2 2 
			 West Yorkshire 7 3 1 3 
			 Wiltshire 0 1 0 0 
			 England and Wales 129 83 80 74 
			 (1) The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997. (2) The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Offences of bigamy recorded by the police( 1) 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 2 2 2 2 1 3 4 
			 Bedfordshire 2 0 3 1 0 1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 4 3 1 1 2 0 2 
			 Cheshire 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 
			 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 4 1 0 0 4 1 
			 Dorset 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Durham 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Essex 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 
			 Gloucestershire 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 5 1 5 5 5 2 5 
			 Gwent 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Hampshire 6 4 0 5 0 1 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 4 3 0 0 1 
			 Humberside 3 0 4 1 2 0 0 
			 Kent 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 
			 Lancashire 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 
			 Leicestershire 0 3 1 5 1 0 1 
			 Lincolnshire 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 0 1 0 3 0 2 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 33 25 40 37 21 30 18 
			 Norfolk 0 2 1 1 0 3 2 
			 Northamptonshire 0 2 5 0 3 1 0 
			 Northumbria 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 
			 North Wales 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 
			 North Yorkshire 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 3 3 1 0 2 0 0 
			 South Wales 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 
			 South Yorkshire 2 1 1 3 1 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 1 0 0 2 2 0 3 
			 Suffolk 2 0 2 2 0 1 1 
			 Surrey 1 0 3 1 2 0 1 
			 Sussex 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 
			 Thames Valley 3 1 6 5 2 7 4 
			 Warwickshire 1 0 1 2 0 5 3 
			 West Mercia 1 0 2 0 2 0 1 
			 West Midlands 1 3 4 6 6 1 2 
			 West Yorkshire 2 3 2 2 0 1 4 
			 Wiltshire 2 0 1 5 0 2 0 
			 England and Wales 88 71 104 101 61 74 65 
			 (1) The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for bigamy, England and Wales 1997 to 2007( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Proceeded against 
			  Force  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon and Somerset — 1 — — — — 1 — 1 — — 
			 Bedfordshire — — 1 — — 1 — — 1 2 — 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 — — — — — 2 — — — 1 
			 Cheshire — 1 — — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 City of London 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cleveland — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Cumbria — — 1 — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Derbyshire — — 3 2 4 — — — — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall — — — — — 2 2 1 — — — 
			 Dorset — 1 — — — 1 — 1 1 — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Essex — — — 1 — 1 2 — — — — 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Greater Manchester 1 — 4 1 1 — — — 3 3 — 
			 Hampshire 2 — 2 1 2 1 3 1 1 — — 
			 Hertfordshire — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Humberside 1 — 1 — — 1 1 1 — — — 
			 Kent — — — 1 1 — — — 1 — — 
			 Lancashire — — — — 1 1 — 1 — — 2 
			 Leicestershire 2 — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Lincolnshire 1 — — 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Merseyside 1 1 1 — — — 1 1 2 1 1 
			 Metropolitan Police 8 18 18 4 3 10 9 8 9 6 4 
			 Norfolk — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 North Yorkshire 2 — — — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Northumbria — — — — — 1 — 1 1 — 3 
			 Nottinghamshire — — — — — — 1 1 — — — 
			 South Yorkshire — — 1 1 — 2 — — — 1 — 
			 Staffordshire — 1 — — — 1 — — 1 — 1 
			 Suffolk — 1 2 — — — 1 1 1 — — 
			 Surrey — — — 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 Sussex — — 1 — 3 4 — — — 1 — 
			 Thames Valley — — 1 — — — — 1 1 — — 
			 Warwickshire — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 West Mercia — — — — 1 — — 1 — — 1 
			 West Midlands 1 2 1 1 2 — 1 — 1 3 1 
			 West Yorkshire 1 2 1 1 — 1 1 — 2 — — 
			 Wiltshire — — 1 — — 1 1 — — 4 — 
			 Dyfed Powys — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Gwent — — — — 2 — — — — — — 
			 North Wales — — — — — 1 — — — 1 — 
			 South Wales — 1 1 1 1 — 1 1 — 1 — 
			 England and Wales 22 30 40 17 23 31 29 22 28 23 17 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			  Force  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon and Somerset — — — — — — 1 — 1 — — 
			 Bedfordshire — — 1 — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Cheshire — 1 — — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 City of London — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cleveland — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Cumbria — — 1 — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Derbyshire — — 1 1 2 — — — — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall — — — — — 1 1 1 — — — 
			 Dorset — 1 — — — 1 — 2 1 — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Essex — — — — — 1 2 — — — — 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Greater Manchester — — 3 — 1 — — — 2 2 — 
			 Hampshire — — 1 — 2 — 2 1 1 — — 
			 Hertfordshire — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Humberside 1 — — — — 1 1 — — — — 
			 Kent 1 — — 1 1 — — 2 — — — 
			 Lancashire — — — — — 1 — 1 — — 2 
			 Leicestershire 1 — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Lincolnshire 1 — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Merseyside 1 1 2 — — — — 1 2 1 — 
			 Metropolitan Police 7 13 12 4 3 3 4 5 7 2 3 
			 Norfolk — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 North Yorkshire 2 — — — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Northumbria — — — — — 1 — 1 1 — 3 
			 Nottinghamshire — — — — — — 1 1 — — — 
			 South Yorkshire — — 1 1 — — — — — 1 — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — — 1 — 1 1 — 1 
			 Suffolk — — 2 — — — 1 1 1 — — 
			 Surrey — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Sussex — — 1 — 3 2 — — — — 1 
			 Thames Valley — — 1 — — — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Warwickshire — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 West Mercia — — — — 1 — — 1 — — 1 
			 West Midlands 1 — — 1 1 — 1 — 1 2 1 
			 West Yorkshire — 1 — 1 — 1 — — 1 — — 
			 Wiltshire — — 1 — — 1 1 — — 2 — 
			 Dyfed Powys — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Gwent — — — — 2 — — — — — — 
			 North Wales — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 South Wales — — 1 — — — 1 1 — — — 
			 England and Wales 16 18 28 12 17 16 20 22 21 11 16 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The number of defendants found guilty in a particular year may exceed those proceeded against, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in the preceding year and they were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year, or the defendant was found guilty for a different offence to the original offence proceeded against.

Extradition: USA

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on the provision of the UK-US Extradition Treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The UK-US extradition treaty was one of the topics debated during the Opposition day debate at the end of the last parliamentary Session. There have been no recent discussions between myself and ministerial colleagues on this matter. The Government are satisfied that the treaty is balanced, fair and working well.

Identity Cards: Greater Manchester

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the Greater Manchester area likely to take up the option of purchasing an identity card in 2010.

Meg Hillier: No estimate has been made of the number of people in the Greater Manchester area likely to take up the option of purchasing an identity card in 2010. However, the Identity and Passport Service has already been working very closely with local stakeholders and will be making a range of material available to inform local residents in Greater Manchester when they will be able to apply for a national identity card at a fee of £30 that can be used to travel in Europe in place of a passport.

Air Pollution: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many days air pollution recorded at each London air quality monitoring site exceeded EU legal limits for air pollution in each year since 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Council Directive 2008/50/EC on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe requires member states to assess ambient air for levels of a number of defined pollutants. The directive sets out limit values which member states are required to meet. The limit values specify both the level the pollutants must be kept below, and the time over which data should be averaged. Limit values with averaging times of less than or equal to 24 hours, and which have been or are being exceeded in London are detailed below:
	NO2 hourly mean of 200 ug/m(3) (not to be exceeded more than 18 times per year)
	24 hour mean (PM10 of 50 ug/m(3), (not be exceeded more than 35 times per year).
	The following table indicates for monitoring sites in London, the number of days per year where an exceedance of either of the above detailed limit values has occurred, for all years between 2005 and 2008 inclusive.
	
		
			  Site Code  Site Name  Year  Days Exceedence of EU Limit Values 
			 A30 London A3 Roadside 2005 2 
			 CD1 Camden Kerbside 2005 6 
			 HS5 Brentford Roadside 2005 7 
			 KC2 London Cromwell Road 2 2005 2 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2005 156 
			 Total 2005   173 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2006 150 
			 Total 2006   150 
			 CD1 Camden Kerbside 2007 21 
			 HG1 Haringey Roadside 2007 1 
			 HK4 London Hackney 2007 3 
			 HS5 Brentford Roadside 2007 5 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2007 123 
			 total 2007   153 
			 CD1 Camden Kerbside 2008 27 
			 HS5 Brentford Roadside 2008 23 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2008 174 
			 Total 2008   224 
		
	
	The following should be noted in conjunction with the table.
	The numbers presented represent a combination of both the above limit values.
	If a single day occurred where there was an exceedance of both the above limit values, it has only been counted once, i.e. the total number of days per year exceeding at each site cannot exceed 365.
	For the hourly mean N02 limit value, the number presented represents a single hour in the day above 200 microgrammes/m(3) (where the total number of hourly means in excess of 200 microgrammes/m(3) at that site was greater than 18 in the year). This counts as one day where an exceedance occurred, even though there may have been several hours above this concentration in the 24 hour period. Only hours in excess of the 18 allowed per year have been counted as contributing to the exceedance.
	For the daily mean PM10 limit value, the total number of days represents the number of days where 24 hour mean concentrations were in excess of 50 microgrammes/m(3), with the first 35 allowed occurrences subtracted.
	Therefore the days counted include only those which are above the 35 days per year allowed, or 18 hours per year allowed, as defined by the limit values.
	Data have only been reported for sites with more than 90 per cent. data capture.

Air Pollution: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average annual concentration of nitrogen dioxide in micrograms per cubic metre was recorded at each London air quality monitoring site in each year since 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Under EU legislation, the UK is required to assess ambient air for levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and to report to the European Commission on an annual basis. Detailed reports on the assessments are available from the Air Quality Archive (www.airquality.co.uk). Nitrogen dioxide monitoring is undertaken in London at a number of sites for this purpose in accordance with the criteria in the Council Directive 2008/50/EC on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe.
	Annual mean NO2 monitoring data are displayed in the table for sites within London for years since 2005. Data are only displayed for sites where data capture for that year was greater than 90 per cent.
	
		
			  Site code  Site name  Year  Annual mean NO 2   ( microgrammes/m(-3) ) 
			 A30 London A3 Roadside 2005 61 
			 BL0 London Bloomsbury 2005 57 
			 BX1 London Bexley 2005 36 
			 BY7 Bromley Roadside 2005 49 
			 HG1 Haringey Roadside 2005 42 
			 HG2 London Haringey 2005 34 
			 HI0 London Hillingdon 2005 45 
			 HK4 London Hackney 2005 49 
			 HS5 Brentford Roadside 2005 49 
			 KC1 London N. Kensington 2005 40 
			 KC2 London Cromwell Road 2 2005 79 
			 LH0 London Harlington 2005 38 
			 LW1 London Lewisham 2005 51 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2005 112 
			 SK1 London Southwark 2005 49 
			 SK2 Southwark Roadside 2005 60 
			 TD0 London Teddington 2005 25 
			 TH2 Tower Hamlets Roadside 2005 61 
			 WA2 London Wandsworth 2005 54 
			 A30 London A3 Roadside 2006 59 
			 BL0 London Bloomsbury 2006 57 
			 BT1 London Brent 2006 30 
			 BX1 London Bexley 2006 36 
			 CD1 Camden Kerbside 2006 71 
			 GR4 London Eltham 2006 30 
			 HG2 London Haringey 2006 33 
			 HI0 London Hillingdon 2006 49 
			 KC1 London N. Kensington 2006 38 
			 KC2 London Cromwell Road 2 2006 83 
			 LH0 London Harlington 2006 37 
			 LW1 London Lewisham 2006 54 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2006 110 
			 TD0 London Teddington 2006 23 
			 TH2 Tower Hamlets Roadside 2006 60 
			 WA2 London Wandsworth 2006 51 
			 WM0 London Westminster 2006 50 
			 BT1 London Brent 2007 32 
			 BX1 London Bexley 2007 34 
			 BY7 Bromley Roadside 2007 47 
			 CD1 Camden Kerbside 2007 77 
			 GR4 London Eltham 2007 30 
			 HG1 Haringey Roadside 2007 42 
			 HG2 London Haringey 2007 32 
			 HI0 London Hillingdon 2007 45 
			 HK4 London Hackney 2007 49 
			 HS5 Brentford Roadside 2007 63 
			 KC1 London N. Kensington 2007 39 
			 KC2 London Cromwell Road 2 2007 71 
			 LH0 London Harlington 2007 37 
			 LW1 London Lewisham 2007 53 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2007 102 
			 SK1 London Southwark 2007 44 
			 TD0 London Teddington 2007 28 
			 BL0 London Bloomsbury 2008 55 
			 BT1 London Brent 2008 33 
			 BX1 London Bexley 2008 33 
			 BY7 Bromley Roadside 2008 45 
			 CD1 Camden Kerbside 2008 76 
			 GR4 London Eltham 2008 26 
			 HG1 Haringey Roadside 2008 37 
			 HG2 London Haringey 2008 32 
			 HK4 London Hackney 2008 51 
			 HS5 Brentford Roadside 2008 58 
			 KC1 London N. Kensington 2008 33 
			 LH0 London Harlington 2008 35 
			 LW1 London Lewisham 2008 52 
			 MY1 London Marylebone Road 2008 115 
			 SK1 London Southwark 2008 47 
			 TD0 London Teddington 2008 25 
			 TH2 Tower Hamlets Roadside 2008 63 
			 WM0 London Westminster 2008 40 
		
	
	All combustion processes in air produce oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric acid (NO) are both oxides of nitrogen and are referred to as NOx. Road transport is the main source. At high levels NO2 causes inflammation of the airways. Long term exposure may affect lung function and respiratory symptoms.
	London is currently exceeding the EU Limit Value of 40 microgrammes/m(3) and is not likely to meet this value by the attainment date of 2010. The Council Directive 2008/50/EC on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe provides for member states to submit plans to the European Commission to postpone the compliance deadline for meeting the limit value for nitrogen dioxide from 2010 to 2015. The UK Government expect to submit such a plan to the Commission in 2010 following consultation early next year.

Domestic Waste: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on charges for the collection of household waste.

Dan Norris: Defra and Welsh Assembly Government officials are working closely together on the review of Schedule 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 and intend to consult jointly.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has not had any discussion with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on charges for the collection of household waste.

Domestic Waste: Fixed Penalties

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent to which the proposals in his Department's consultation document on Fairer and better environmental enforcement published in July 2009, will affect the  (a) frequency and  (b) level of financial penalties issued to households for offences relating to household waste.

Dan Norris: The present Fairer and Better Environmental Enforcement proposals and consultation do not extend to local authorities, who are responsible for household waste matters. Any proposals to give local authorities powers to use the civil sanctions enabled by the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 would be subject to a further public consultation and separate secondary legislation, which would be debated in Parliament.
	The present proposals would give national environmental regulators an alternative to prosecution in cases when enforcement is necessary and proportionate. The proposals would allow Environment Agency, Natural England and Countryside Council for Wales to take businesses and others with a good general approach to regulation out of the criminal courts when enforcement action was needed. However, regulator advice and guidance would remain the cornerstone of a well graduated and fair enforcement system. The worst cases of non-compliance would continue to be prosecuted. The proposed changes are designed to strengthen incentives to comply and to promote co-operation between regulator and regulated.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme provided for local authorities in relation to waste (i) collection and (ii) disposal in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Dan Norris: In 2008-09 Defra directly provided £78.2 million in funding to local authorities outside London via the Waste Infrastructure Capital Grant. £60 million will be made available to London authorities through the London Waste and Recycling Fund for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. These unringfenced capital grants will be paid to upper tier and unitary authorities to enable them to set up the necessary waste infrastructure to help England meet landfill targets.
	Defra also provides financial support to local authorities through Private Finance Initiative credits to help accelerate the building of the infrastructure needed to treat residual waste without compromising efforts to minimise waste and increase recycling levels. To date £2.5 billion has been allocated to 37 projects. Further information can be found on Defra's website.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) provided a total of £2.68 million to local authorities during 2008-09. The funds were spent on local communications campaigns specifically to improve communications with householders about local recycling services and to promote the 'Love Food Hate Waste' campaign. WRAP has no remit in relation to waste disposal and has not, therefore, provided any funds to local authorities in relation to it.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's 4Es Model on planning for waste prevention.

Dan Norris: The 4Es Model was published in "Securing the future: delivering UK sustainable development strategy" (March 2005). This document is available on Defra's website.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the research report commissioned by his Department with reference  (a) WR0105 and  (b) WR0106.

Dan Norris: DEFRA has received the draft final report for WR0105 'Project REDUCE Monitoring and Evaluation—Developing Tools to Measure Waste Prevention' and the project team is currently completing a finalised version ready for publication. The final report will be made publicly available on DEFRA's website.
	The project (WR0106) 'Achieving Household Waste Prevention Through Product Service Systems' is publicly available on DEFRA's website.

Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what projects funded from the Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund have involved work by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 21 October 2009
	 Projects which have been funded from the Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund involving work by the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science are:
	
		
			  Contract number  Full title  Contract status  Start date  End date  Direct customer 
			 C2228 Assessment of the rehabilitation of the seabed following Marine Aggregate Dredging—Part II: Cefas ALSF funds/Defra Completed 12 May 2004 31 March 2007 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C2282 Eastern English Channel large-scale Habitat Mapping (MEPF 04/01): BGS/Cefas ALSF Completed 14 February 2005 10 March 2008 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3092 Initial assessment of the scale and in-situ Impact of fishing activities using geophysical data in the Eastern English Channel: Cefas ALSF Completed 1 September 2007 28 February 2008 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3101 Assessing Ecosystem health following Marine Aggregate dredging-Defra (ALSF)—linked toC2167 Completed 9 July 2007 31 March 2008 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3117 Eastern Seabed Channel Acquisition, processing and interpretation of bathymetric XYZ data to produce digital sea bed bathymetry and 3D surface morphology models Completed 1 October 2007 31 March 2008 British Geological survey 
			 C3309 Distribution of Defra Marine Aggregate Levy sustainability funds FY 08/09 to FY 10/11: Defra RPD Current 1 April 2008 31 March 2011 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3312 A Generic investigation into noise profiles of marine aggregate dredging in relation to the acoustic sensitivity of the marine fauna in UK waters: ALSF Completed 1 July 2008 31 March 2009 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3315 Dredging Impacts verified in relation to scientific evidence (DIVERSE): ALSF Current 1 July 2008 28 February 2011 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3324 Best Practice Workshop and Guidelines on Aggregate Ecological Assessments: ALSF-MEPF. MEPF 08/P75 Current 1 July 2008 31 March 2010 MEPF/P75 
			 C3325 Effects of aggregate dredging on marine food web structure and function: ALSF-MEPF Current 1 September 2008 7 December 2010 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3326 Distribution and intensity of fishing activities in the vicinity of aggregate extraction sites: ALSF MEPF Current 21 July 2008 31 January 2011 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3327 Marine Aggregate integrated assessment—a method to quantify ecosystem sustainability ALSF-MEPF Current 1 October 2008 1 June 2010 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3328 MEPF 08/02 South Coast regional environmental characterisation (REC) prog—data analysis and interpretation; BGS Current 1 July 2008 31 March 2010 British Geological survey 
			 C3340 East Coast regional Environmental Characterisation (REC) Programme MEPF 08/04 Current 5 August 2008 28 February 2011 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3688 Natural variability of REA Regions, their Ecological significance and Sensitivity Current 1 September 2009 31 December 2010 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3687 MEPF: Development of national data layers on Inshore fishing: ALSF Current 15 September 2009 31 December 2010 MEPF-ALSF 
			 C3689 Seabed Restoration: Do the benefits justify the costs? Current 1 September 2009 31 December 2010 MEPF-ALSF 
			  Source: Internal CEFAS Management Database Contract

South Downs National Park

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) has been spent and  (b) is planned to be spent on (i) consultation, (ii) organisational set-up, (iii) project management, (iv) communications, (v) planning, (vi) wages, (vii) pensions, (viii) office running and (ix) other costs of the South Downs National Park in the next 12 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The cost of the two public inquiries and a recent hearing totalled £3.26 million. We expect that less than £1 million will be spent on setting up the South Downs National Park Authority in the current financial year. The budgets for future years have yet to be determined.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has provided to Resources Futures; and for what purposes.

Dan Norris: DEFRA's Waste and Resources Evidence Programme has commissioned projects from Resource Futures at a total cost of £137,845. The research covers waste growth and the composition of municipal waste.
	Since 1 April 2007, the Waste and Resources Action Programme has bought technical services from Resources Futures at a total cost of £1.2 million. These services cover a range of topics, including work with local authorities, the third sector and on evaluating our programmes.

Disability Living Allowance: Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the  (a) number and  (b) amount spent on fraudulent claims for disability living allowance in each of the last four years.

Helen Goodman: The Department's measurement system for fraud and error does not estimate the number of fraudulent cases over a given period. It does, however, provide an estimate of the average number of fraudulent claims at any one time. Estimates of fraud in disability living allowance were last measured in 2004-05 when the number of fraudulent cases was estimated to be 10,000 cases. There are no estimates for later years.
	An estimate for the percentage of fraudulent expenditure has also been produced for 2004-05 and subsequent years by applying the 2004-05 percentage of fraudulent expenditure to the relevant disability living allowance expenditure in each subsequent year. The estimates are in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimate of the amount overpaid due to fraud in disability living allowance 
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 40 
			 2005-06 40 
			 2006-07 40 
			 2007-08 50 
			 2008-09 50

Employment and Support Allowance: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency have  (a) applied for and  (b) been refused Employment and Support Allowance since October 2008.

Jim Knight: National level statistics on the Work Capability Assessment covering Great Britain were published on 13 October 2009 and are available via the ONS Publication Hub. A copy of the publication has been placed in the Library and can be accessed directly on the website at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca.asp
	Equivalent information for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency is not held centrally. However, equivalent data for Birmingham local authority is in the table.
	
		
			  Employment and support allowance on-flows October 2008 to February 2009 by result of medical assessment—Birmingham local authority 
			  Work capability result  Volumes  Percentage 
			 Support Group 200 6 
			 Work Related Activity Group 400 10 
			 Fit for Work 1,300 34 
			 Claim closed before assessment complete 1,400 37 
			 Assessment still in progress 500 13 
			  Note: This data are based on recorded advice from ATOS, rather than the Decision Maker's final determination. The final outcomes of cases may change. This will be further compounded by reconsiderations following additional medical evidence and the outcomes of appeals. Full guidance on the national figures is included in the published statistics referred to above.

Equality 2025

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on the operation of Equality 2025 to date; and how many people Equality 2025 has employed in each year since its inception.

Jonathan R Shaw: Equality 2025 is an advisory non-departmental public body established in response to a recommendation in the 2005 report by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit 'Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People'. It is sponsored by (but is not part of) the Office for Disability Issues, part of the Department for Work and Pensions. The advisory group is made up of 19 disabled people appointed to collect and feed the views of disabled people across the United Kingdom into Government policymaking and service design.
	Equality 2025 was established in December 2006 and is funded by the Office for Disability Issues. Its total expenditure for the periods 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 has been £1,391,059.
	Equality 2025 has not employed any permanent or temporary staff since its establishment, but it does receive secretariat support from the Office for Disability Issues.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Fife

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in North East Fife constituency had been claiming jobseeker's allowance for  (a) less than six months,  (b) between six and 12 months,  (c) between 12 months and two years and  (d) more than two years on the latest date for which information is available.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in North East Fife constituency had been claiming jobseeker's allowance for (a) less then six months, (b) between six and 12 months, (c) between 12 months and 2 years and (d) more than two years on the latest date for which information is available. (293975)
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of computerised claims of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for people, aged 16 or over resident in the North East Fife constituency on 10 September 2009, broken down by the duration of the claim.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at: http://www.nomiswcb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance resident in North East Fife constituency by duration of claim (10 September 2009) 
			  Duration  Number 
			 Up to 26 weeks 740 
			 Over 26 weeks up to 52 weeks 210 
			 Over 52 weeks up to 104 weeks 80 
			 Over 104 weeks 5 
			  Note: Data rounded to nearest 5.  Source: Jobcentre plus administrative system

Burma: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of human rights violations in eastern Burma in the last 12 months; and what representations he has made to the Burmese government on this matter.

Ivan Lewis: The UK is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in eastern Burma and reports earlier in the year of renewed fighting between the Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist army, who are supported by the Burmese army.
	Attacks carried out by the Burmese army and their Karen client organisations on civilians in Karen State have been particularly intense in the last two years. We have repeatedly called for a halt to such offensives and have urged both the military regime and the Karen National Union to intensify their efforts to find a peaceful settlement that will bring about a permanent end to the conflict.
	On 11 June 2009, the Czech Presidency of the EU issued a statement calling for an end to the hostilities. It expressed particular concern about the humanitarian impact of the conflict. We fully support this call and our embassy in Rangoon continues to monitor the situation closely. Our embassy most recently raised human rights issues with the Burmese authorities on 18 October 2009.

Children: Kidnapping

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding has been allocated to his Department's Child Abduction Unit in each of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: A dedicated Child Abduction Section was set up in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Consular Directorate in 2003 in response to the growing number of parental child abduction cases. There are currently five staff in the section. In addition to staff costs, the following funding amounts were allocated to projects over the last five financial years:
	
		
			  (£) 
			 2009-10(1) £102,006 
			 2008-09 £115,200 
			 2007-08 £162,250 
			 2006-07 £66,980 
			 2005-06 (2)— 
			 (1) Current year (2) There was no specific funding allocation for Child Abduction Section

China: World Expo

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, column 1259W, on the Shanghai World Expo, when he expects to finalise plans for ministerial attendance at the event.

Ivan Lewis: The Government are fully committed to Shanghai Expo 2010, which offers the UK a unique opportunity to advance our very broad objectives in China: from trade and industry to climate change, science and technology to tourism, education to financial services. Plans for ministerial attendance during the six months of the Expo will be decided upon nearer to the opening in May 2010.

Cyprus: Green Line

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people who have crossed the Green Line in Cyprus since 30 April 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The Government have not estimated this information. However, according to figures provided by the Republic of Cyprus and published in the European Commission's Green Line Report, 730,310 Greek Cypriots crossed from the south to the north of Cyprus and 1,287,126 Turkish Cypriots crossed from the north to the south of Cyprus during the period 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009:
	http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/turkish_cypriot_cornmunity/glr_report_en.pdf
	The same source reports that a further 739,097 non-Cypriot EU citizens and third country nationals crossed the line during this period.
	These figures do not include border crossings within the UK's Sovereign Base Areas, for which data is not collected.

Cyprus: Green Line

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the  (a) volume and  (b) monetary value of cross-Green Line trade in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The Government do not collect any information on the volume or value of cross-Green Line trade in Cyprus. However, according to figures provided by the Republic of Cyprus and published in the European Commission's Green Line Report, the total value of goods that crossed the Green Line was €6,111,030 from 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009, compared to €4,473,408 for the previous reporting period:
	http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/turkish_cypriot_community/glr_report_en.pdf

Cyprus: Northern Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) recent discussions he has had with (i) the government of Cyprus and (ii) the administration in northern Cyprus and  (b) recent assessment he has made of implementation of confidence-building measures in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The Government follow the Cyprus settlement question very closely and have frequent discussions both with the government of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot leadership on this topic. They support confidence building measures as an important means of developing trust between the two communities. A number of measures, for example on ambulance crossings and restoration of cultural heritage, have already been implemented. We hope to see further confidence building measures being implemented in the coming months.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Democratic Republic of Congo on the prosecution of allegations of gender-based violence by members of the Congolese armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador in Kinshasa has repeatedly called for members of the armed forces guilty of human rights abuses to be brought to justice. The UN Security Council, including the UK Permanent representative, raised this issue in May with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Kabila and DRC Prime Minister Muzito. Kabila gave a speech to the nation on Independence Day in June this year, promising renewed efforts to ensure "total security" for the population, including ending sexual and gender based violence.
	Military courts in Rutshuru have since prosecuted several cases against some Congolese national army (FARDC) officers for crimes including rape. The UK continues to push for legal action against five senior FARDC commanders accused of committing sexual violence, named by the UN Security Council during their visit. We will continue to stress the importance of ensuring the implementation of the UN Mission to the DRC (MONUC)'s policy of withdrawing support from FARDC units implicated in serious human rights abuses.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Internally Displaced Persons

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of the number of people who have been displaced in Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of the activities of the Lords Resistance Army since the beginning of 2009; which countries have received such people; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: According to a recent report by the UN Secretary General, 226,000 people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a result of the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army since the beginning of 2009.
	We are aware that many displaced people from the DRC have moved to South Sudan. We are also aware that some refugees may have fled to Uganda and the Central African Republic.
	We strongly condemn the atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army in the northern DRC and throughout the Great Lakes Region of Africa. They have committed appalling human rights abuses against the civilian population, including mass executions and abductions. The UN Mission to the DRC, MONUC, has increased its presence in the north of the country, after being urged to do so by the UK and other governments. MONUC is providing logistical support to humanitarian organisations, which are providing relief to the civilian population.
	We also strongly urge co-ordination between the different peacekeeping missions in that region of Africa.

Embassies: EU Countries

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what revenue was received at British Embassies from Overseas Passport fees in each country of the European Union in each of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: The following table lists the revenue received at our Missions from Overseas Passport fees in each country of the EU in each of the last five years, pro rated based on accession dates.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Country  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  Grand total 
			 Austria 37,757 69,567 89,472 123,835 94,071 414,702 
			 Belgium 252,721 257,358 304,304 389,535 34 1,203,952 
			 Bulgaria 0 0 0 5,000 13,661 18,661 
			 Cyprus 321,090 390,832 520,032 600,710 681,560 2,514,224 
			 Czech Republic 40,226 51,840 72,170 80,215 68,429 312,880 
			 Denmark 101,149 123,332 143,663 184,147 173,646 725,937 
			 Estonia 3,057 3,117 5,038 5,460 4,387 21,059 
			 Finland 22,173 21,348 35,768 46,505 42,736 168,530 
			 France 821,553 1,136,118 1,616,805 2,061,027 2,706,459 8,341,962 
			 Germany 935,027 957,092 1,383,448 1,683,959 1,654,141 6,613,667 
			 Greece 138,361 167,218 243,614 288,525 285,333 1,123,051 
			 Holland 323,717 404,678 490,141 608,304 322,955 2,149,795 
			 Hungary 25,545 31,155 37,740 49,399 50,027 193,866 
			 Ireland 614,002 644,937 880,563 1,057,212 1,055,696 4,252,410 
			 Italy 268,705 333,745 409,181 491,835 454,298 1,957,764 
			 Latvia 1,968 3,503 4,717 5,481 5,402 21,071 
			 Luxembourg 42,292 343 548 407 117 43,707 
			 Lithuania 892 2,633 2,249 4,170 2,905 12,849 
			 Malta 42,204 57,117 75,004 85,796 97,130 357,251 
			 Poland 28,020 40,549 41,288 57,431 52,624 219,912 
			 Portugal 147,115 155,024 199,414 176,044 9,488 687,085 
			 Romania 0 0 0 6,071 23,523 29,594 
			 Slovakia 3,878 6,862 10,120 11,368 9,377 41,605 
			 Slovenia 2,058 1,421 3,602 4,479 3,710 15,270 
			 Spain 1,148,209 1,450,790 1,986,662 2,663,752 2,539,259 9,788,672 
			 Sweden 100,120 125,729 178,371 206,218 199,432 809,870 
			 Grand total 5,421,839 6,436,308 8,733,914 10,896,885 10,550,400 42,039,345

EU Law

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which powers ceded to EU level under the Treaty establishing the European Communities and the Treaty on European Union have subsequently been returned to the UK under the principle of subsidiarity.

Chris Bryant: The principle of subsidiarity is not a mechanism for "returning powers" to the member states, but for determining whether or not Community action should be set in motion.
	The member states, through the EU treaties, set the EU certain tasks and give it the powers to achieve those tasks. Article 5 of the treaty establishing the European Community states that, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Community shall take action, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community.
	Further guidelines for assessing whether these requirements are met are laid down by the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The Protocol also requires the Commission to justify the relevance of any of its legislative proposals with regard to the principle of subsidiarity.
	The Lisbon treaty would strengthen the role of national parliaments in EU decision-making, so that for the first time national parliaments could challenge draft EU legislation on subsidiarity grounds. It is for Parliament to decide how to exercise its rights under these procedures.

France: Industrial Disputes

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of France on the cost to British businesses and tourists of blockades of Channel ports.

Chris Bryant: Our embassy in Paris and our consulate in Lille have both raised issues relating to the blockades with the French authorities.
	My right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr. Khan) also raised concerns with his French counterpart during the blockade.

Gaza: Borders

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken to seek  (a) the ending of restrictions on access to Gaza imposed by the Israeli authorities and  (b) to ensure that international law is observed in that area.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu on 15 October 2009. He clearly expressed the UK's concerns regarding the current situation in Gaza and urged unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.
	Although there is no permanent physical Israeli presence in Gaza, Israel maintains a significant degree of control, including control of Gaza's borders, airspace arid territorial waters. The UK does not consider that Israel's obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 have ceased to apply in respect of Gaza and we continue to make this clear.

India

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of India on the situation of the Chin refugees in Mizoram state; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary are in regular contact with their Indian counterparts on the subject of Burma.
	The UK believes that the status quo in Burma is inherently unstable and that the case of the Chin refugees is just one example of the Burmese regime's repressive policies towards the country's ethnic groups.
	We also remain concerned by the effects of a rat infestation in Chin state during the last two years and the plight of the Chin refugees in India.
	In response to an assessment undertaken by the UN, the Department for International Development has approved funding of £880,000 for emergency aid delivered through the UN Development Programme, the World Food Programme and their local partners. About 65,000 people have benefited from this aid. We are keeping the situation under close review.

Iran: Religious Freedom

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation of the Jewish community in Iran since July 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The situation of the Jewish community in Iran has long been of concern to us. Its members have suffered discrimination under the Islamic Republic: for example, Iranian Jews are barred from running for President, and from a number of professions, such as the armed forces. President Ahmadinejad's repeated denials of the Holocaust— most recently at the UN General Assembly in September—only serve to increase our concern.
	We have been disturbed by the Iranian authorities' response to the protests that followed the disputed June 2009 presidential election, and in particular by the death and imprisonment sentences handed down in recent days. One of those convicted was the Jewish teenager, Yaghoghil Shaolian. He has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. We are seeking more information about his case, as well as those of the other defendants, and will raise our concerns with the Iranian authorities, since those convicted and sentenced appear to have been denied a fair trial.

NATO: Young People

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on the involvement of young people in the UK in NATO activities.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no recent discussions with his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) counterparts on this issue.
	NATO is currently in the process of producing its new Strategic Concept, which will set the Alliance's direction for the coming years. We support the Secretary General's efforts to make this as consultative as possible. That includes setting up an online discussion forum through which members of the public, including young people in the UK, can give their views on the future priorities of the Alliance. It can be found at:
	http://natostratcon.info/forum/
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also supports the work of the Atlantic Council UK which has recently set up a Youth Chapter and will begin a schools' programme next month designed to increase awareness among young people in this country of the important work NATO does.
	Through our contributions to NATO's civil budget we also support the work of the Alliance's Public Diplomacy division, which hosts a number of youth events. These include youth summits held in the margins of NATO's annual summits, the most recent of which took place in April.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK's commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan is; and what personnel the UK has trusted in support of this commitment.

Ivan Lewis: The UK believes the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is the foundation of future peace and stability in Sudan. The UK was one of the witnesses to the signing of the CPA in 2005 and we are committed to its full implementation, including the referendum on self-determination for South Sudan in January 2011.
	Ministers are closely engaged in leading the UK's efforts in Sudan. My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr. Thomas) visited Sudan earlier this month and will be meeting with both parties in North and South Sudan to urge them to accelerate implementation of the CPA.
	The UK has a strong Government team working on Sudan, led by the UK Special Representative for Sudan, together with our ambassador in Khartoum. We also fund Sir Derek Plumbly as Chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC), the organisation in Sudan charged with monitoring implementation of the CPA.
	DFID has a major programme of development assistance to Sudan, with a budget of £115 million for 2009-10, and we provide significant support to both UN missions in Sudan, including deployment of UK military officers.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan in its role as a co-signatory to the Agreement.

Ivan Lewis: The UK believes the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is the foundation of future peace and stability in Sudan and was one of the witnesses to the signing of the CPA in 2005. We are committed to its full implementation, including the referendum on self-determination for South Sudan in January 2011.
	The UK has been working closely with partners, including the US and its Special Envoy to Sudan, General Gration, to urge both the National Congress Party and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement to make urgent progress on the outstanding CPA milestones.
	My hon. Friend the Minister of State for International Development (Mr. Thomas) visited Sudan earlier this month and urged both parties in north and south to ensure that the remaining issues are resolved, including preparations for the elections next year and referendum in 2011. He also underlined the importance that the UK attaches to free and fair elections.
	The UK has worked actively to ensure that the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in July over the boundary of the Abyei area is accepted by both parties. Implementation of the decision is now progressing slowly and we continue to urge timely and peaceful progress. We are concerned that the broader north-south border demarcation process is stalled and have pressed both parties to resolve the remaining areas of contention.
	The UK is also working to ensure that critical post-referendum issues, such as wealth-sharing and citizenship rights, are addressed by both parties. These need to be agreed by north and south in advance of the referendum, whatever its outcome, to help ensure that the decision is peaceful. We are supporting work through Chatham House in this area.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on measures to strengthen the Assessment and Evaluation Committee on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The UK strongly supports the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) in Sudan and the work it undertakes to monitor implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
	We secured the appointment of Sir Derek Plumbly, a retired UK diplomat, as Chair of the AEC in March 2008 and Sir Derek has worked actively to strengthen the role of the AEC. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for International Development (Mr. Thomas) met with Sir Derek during his visit to Sudan last week.
	The AEC has been active and instrumental in delivering progress on the CPA: senior representatives from both the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement and the National Congress Party sit on the AEC, with a number of members and observers drawn from the witnesses to the Agreement, and this has provided a forum for open dialogue on the various CPA issues. There are a number of AEC Working Groups that address the various issues, including Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing, Security and the Three Areas.
	The UK is active in both the AEC plenary meetings and all of its working groups. We continue to work to support the AEC and ensure that it continues to play a central role in implementation of the CPA.

Terrorism: Finance

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sources of illicit funding for the Taliban his Department has identified other than that derived from the narcotics trade; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The illicit narcotics trade continues to provide a significant source of income for the Taliban. Other sources of funds are foreign donations, local contributions, illegitimate taxes, ransom for kidnapping, extortion and smuggling. We are working with our international partners, and through established mechanisms like the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 sanctions regime, to identify and eliminate the Taliban's access to these funding sources.

Uganda

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of UK policy towards Uganda of any discovery of new oilfields in that country.

Ivan Lewis: Oil companies operating in Uganda have announced significant new discoveries this year in the Albertine Rift Valley region in Western Uganda. Technical and financial challenges remain, but current projections suggest that Uganda could become an oil producing nation within a few years. Oil resources could, if properly managed, help to strengthen Uganda's economy and development prospects.
	The UK has urged the government of Uganda to design and implement sound and transparent strategies for harnessing oil resources that support peaceful economic and political development.

Uganda

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Uganda on the subject of refugees from Sudan in that country.

Ivan Lewis: None

Uganda: Armed Conflict

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the status of the peace negotiations with the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) is; what recent reports he has received of countries where the LRA is active; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) agreed a peace settlement, the Final Peace Agreement (FPA), in April 2008 after almost two years of negotiations mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan. However the LRA has yet to honour its commitment to sign the final peace agreement.
	The LRA are known to be operating in Southern Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	The Government regularly discuss LRA activity with the Government of Uganda, and stress the importance of both continued regional cooperation to deal with the threat and protecting civilian populations from LRA attacks.
	At the recent UN General Assembly Ministerial week, my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Ivan Lewis) discussed the LRA with Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa. Our posts in Kampala, Juba, Khartoum, Yaounde and Kinshasa continue to monitor the situation closely, and have raised the issue with other interested parties, including the UN.

UN Security Council

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the papers submitted by the Government to the meeting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council held in London on 3 and 4 September.

Ivan Lewis: The UK conference of considered confidence building, verification and compliance challenges associated with achieving further progress on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The conference was the first time that senior policy makers, military officials and technical experts from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5) had met to discuss such issues. The P5 agreed that the conference would be held behind closed doors to facilitate full and frank discussion. The P5 issued a statement summarising the discussions after the conference.

United Nations: Meetings

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed at the meeting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in London on 3 and 4 September 2009; and what agreements were reached.

Ivan Lewis: The UK hosted a conference of senior policy makers, military officials and technical experts from the P5 (Russia, China, the US, the UK and France) on 3-4 September 2009 to consider the confidence building, verification and compliance challenges associated with achieving further progress on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
	The discussions covered, ways to increase mutual understanding by sharing definitions of nuclear terminology and information about nuclear doctrines and capabilities; presentations on enhancing strategic stability; ways to build mutual confidence through voluntary transparency; and the international challenges associated with responding to nuclear accidents. The P5 undertook to consider ways to co-operate to address these challenges, and released a statement after the meeting.

Creativity and Business International Network

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has budgeted for expenditure on the Creativity and Business International Network forum event to be held from 26 to 28 October 2009 at The Grove in Hertfordshire.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend, the Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism, gave him on 14 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1210W. The cost of the event at the Grove is included within the £3 million allocated to this project for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Television: Licensing

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in Leeds West constituency receive a free television licence.

Si�n Simon: Free television licences are administered for people aged 75 or over by TV Licensing as agents for the BBC. This is a matter for the BBC and my Department does not hold this information. I understand that the BBC cannot provide a breakdown of the licences distributed by constituency, but rather stores this information by postcode.

Members: Allowances

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many hon. Members have returned monies to the House in respect of expenses claims; and how much has been repaid in each such case.

Nick Harvey: From 1 April to 21 October 2009, 260 Members and former Members made repayments of sums received as allowances totalling some 637,000. (This does not include all routine repayments arising from items such as refunds on utility bills and repayment of rental deposits.) More detailed information cannot be given without further checking, including checking by the Members concerned.

Members: Allowances

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of Sir Thomas Legg's analysis of hon. Members' expenses claims.

Nick Harvey: The review is expected to cost approximately 1.1 million.

Equality Bill

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many of the responses received to the consultation on the public sector equality duties proposed in the Equality Bill were from faith-based organisations working in the public sector.

Michael Jabez Foster: The consultation on the specific duties closed on 30 September. We are currently working through the responses and will publish an analysis in due course.
	The single Equality Duty we are bringing in through our Equality Bill will place a new legal requirement on public bodies to consider how they can design and deliver services in ways that will tackle discrimination and advance equality for people of different religions and those of noneresulting in better, more responsive and more personalised services for all.

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

Kevan Jones: The total amounts made as grants in aid are as follows:
	
		
			
			 2003-04 30,817,129 
			 2004-05 31,897,153 
			 2005-06 31,604,136 
			 2006-07 30,335,751 
			 2007-08 32,218,493 
		
	
	A number of organisations receive grants in aid from the MOD including Voluntary Cadet Groups (Naval Cadet Force, Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force), Museums, Forces Welfare organisations such as the Sailors, Soldiers, Air Forces and Families Association (SSAFA), Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS), Help Information Voluntary Exchange (HIVE) and sports bodies.
	Smaller charitable grants are made by each of the single services to organisations with which they are closely affiliated. The amounts involved are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent  (a) in England,  (b) in Wales,  (c) in Northern Ireland and  (d) overseas on (i) equipment, (ii) non-equipment expenditure, (iii) service personnel costs and (iv) civil personnel costs in each year since 1997.

Kevan Jones: Estimated direct MOD expenditure for the sub-UK areas and categories requested for the years where data are available are provided in the following tables.
	
		
			  England 
			   million at current prices (VAT exclusive) 
			   1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total (1) (1) (1) (1) 19,780 21,020 21,100 22,910 23,450 23,320 
			  Of which:   
			 Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 8,230 8,380 8,350 9,350 9,620 9,910 
			 Non Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 4,190 4,830 4,900 5,320 5,610 5,280 
			 Service personnel costs n/a 2,940 2,980 5,130 5,460 6,070 5,970 6,190 6,270 6,220 
			 Civilian personnel cost 1,760 1,830 1,780 1,780 1,900 1,740 1,880 2,050 1,950 1,910 
		
	
	
		
			  Wales 
			   million at current prices (VAT exclusive) 
			   1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total (1) (1) (1) (1) 340 430 370 380 400 390 
			  Of which:   
			 Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 100 130 110 100 120 130 
			 Non Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 90 140 100 120 100 80 
			 Service personnel costs n/a 70 60 100 110 120 120 120 140 140 
			 Civilian personnel cost 40 40 40 30 40 40 40 40 40 40 
		
	
	
		
			  Northern Ireland 
			   million at current prices (VAT exclusive) 
			   1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total (1) (1) (1) (1) 540 550 500 550 590 650 
			  Of which:   
			 Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 120 90 60 70 60 120 
			 Non Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 70 90 70 110 140 140 
			 Service personnel costs n/a 180 170 250 270 300 290 280 300 300 
			 Civilian personnel cost 70 70 70 70 80 70 80 90 90 90 
		
	
	
		
			  Overseas 
			   million at current prices (VAT exclusive) 
			   1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total (1) (1) (1) (1) 2,870 3,260 3,480 3,760 3,990 4,440 
			  Of which:   
			 Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,260 1,470 1,710 1,880 2,170 2,630 
			 Non Equipment expenditure n/a n/a n/a n/a 150 180 140 160 160 160 
			 Service personnel costs n/a n/a n/a 1,010 1,080 1,190 1,180 1,230 1,150 1,140 
			 Civilian personnel cost 230 240 230 330 380 420 450 490 510 510 
			 n/a = Denotes that data were not available for all the sub UK areas for these years. (1) Denotes not applicable.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 million. 2. Indirect expenditure, such as subcontracted work, is not reflected in these figures. 3. Personnel costs exclude contributions made by MOD to the Armed Forces Pensions Scheme and War Pensions Scheme. 4. Reliable data for equipment and non equipment expenditure are not available for all the sub UK areas for the years prior to 2002-03. 
		
	
	The defence budget is not formally allocated at sub-UK level. Defence Procurement provides the UK armed forces with the equipment needed as efficiently as possible to deliver the best value for money for the armed forces regardless of where the items are procured or MOD personnel are located. The Defence Budget is planned on this basis to achieve the optimum allocation of resources in relation to current defence objectives and priorities.

Territorial Army

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of Territorial Army (TA) reservists who will leave the TA as a result of the proposed six month stand-down of the TA;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the reduction in expenditure which will accrue from the six-month stand-down of the Territorial Army.

Bill Rammell: We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the front-line is properly resourced, and that the mission in Afghanistan will have all the backing it needs to succeed. All personnel, both regular and reserve, currently earmarked for operations will be provided with the training they need before deployment and be paid for it. The suspension for the remainder of this financial year of Territorial Army (TA) activity not directly supporting operations will contribute 20 million to a total saving of 43 million in the TA budget this year.
	The reductions in normal activity are, of course, disappointing for TA members. We hope that the majority will understand the reasons behind these restrictions and the exceptional circumstances in which they are being applied. We are confident that reservists will stay to resume training when the restrictions are lifted.

Departmental Motor Vehicles

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years.

Barbara Follett: Figures for the Department's expenditure on hire vehicles for the last three years are tabled as follows. Figures for earlier years could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			
			 2006-07 48,444 
			 2007-08 57,250 
			 2008-09 25,657

Departmental Recruitment

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data his Department holds on the level of diversity in the recruitment of employees by his Department and its predecessor in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: Information on workforce diversity is published as part of our Disability Equality Scheme, Gender Equality Scheme, Race Equality Scheme and their related updates. These are available on our corporate web pages.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/publications/
	Our Workforce Diversity Data Reports, which also contain data on work force diversity and recruitment, have been published annually on our Workforce Equalities web pages since 2006; hardcopies are also available on request.

Departmental Travel

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department and its predecessor spent on  (a) car hire,  (b) train travel,  (c) air travel and  (d) hotels for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Barbara Follett: Figures for the Department's expenditure on  (a) car hire,  (b) train travel,  (c) air travel and  (d) hotels for the last three years is tabled as follows. Figures for earlier years could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Car hire 695,296 658,041 576,085 
			 Rail 1,308,768 909,396 1,126,261 
			 Air 597,311 213,009 280,295 
			 Hotel 543,295 437,868 326,322 
			 Total 3,144,670 2,218,314 2,308,963 
		
	
	Figures for Ministers could be disaggregated from these totals only at disproportionate cost.
	Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively, and all spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
	Later this year the Department will begin releasing the details of business expenses and hospitality received by senior officials. These will be published on our website on a quarterly basis.
	The Cabinet Office also publish an annual list of overseas travel over 500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on overnight accommodation for  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials while overseas in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) to question 289978. Details of overnight accommodation overseas could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the Cabinet Office publishes an annual list of overseas travel over 500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list can be viewed at
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx

Disabled Facilities Grants

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) Government funding and  (b) total expenditure there has been on disabled facilities grants in England in each year since 2004-05; and how many such grants were awarded in each of those years.

Ian Austin: The following table shows the total expenditure on disabled facilities grants in England since 2004-05 and the funding contribution made by Government. Further details can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/
	
		
			  Disabled facilities grant 
			   Government contribution ()  Total expenditure including LA contribution ()  Total number grants completed 
			 2004-05 99,572 210,922 38,552 
			 2005-06 111,294 221,289 34,975 
			 2006-07 120,723 232,828 37,267 
			 2007-08 138,250 259,389 38,129 
			 2008-09 146,081 274,356 (1)n/a 
			 2009-10 156,930 (1)n/a (1)n/a 
			 (1) Not yet published.

EC Grants and Loans

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 389W, on the European Commission, what the sterling equivalent is of the totals provided in euros in the answer.

Rosie Winterton: The sterling equivalent was 23 million.

EC Grants and Loans

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the size of the financial correction likely to be imposed by the European Commission in respect of irregularities in management of European funds in relation to those  (a) 1997-99 programmes and  (b) 2000-06 programmes for which his Department has responsibility.

Rosie Winterton: The financial correction imposed earlier this year by the Commission in respect of error rates found in two English 1997-99 programmes was 26 million. The departmental accounts for 2008-9 show (at note 29) a contingent liability of 215 million in respect of the 2000-2006 programmes. These liabilities are unlikely to be realised in full and the Department is taking steps to make sure that they are minimised. Only when all open audits are concluded and the programme closure reports have been submitted to the Commission on 31 March 2010, will we be able to assess what provision may be required against possible corrections by the European Commission.

Fire Brigades Union

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the Fire Brigades Union in the last 12 months; on what date each meeting was held; and whether the FireGuard project was discussed.

Shahid Malik: Ministers met formally with the representative of the Fire Brigades Union to discuss fire related issues on 22 October 2008; 17 December 2008; 9 March 2009; 5 May 2009 and the 8 July 2009. There is no record of the Fireguard project being discussed.

Fire Services

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance his Department has issued to fire and rescue authorities on the re-configuration of fire services in terms of the location of fire stations and fire appliances.

Shahid Malik: Decisions on operational issues such as the location of fire stations and fire appliances are taken by individual Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) as part of the Integrated Risk Management Planning process.
	FRAs are required by the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework to have in place and maintain an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) which reflects local need and sets out plans to tackle effectively both existing and potential risks to communities. The IRMP enables the authority to tailor cover for fire and other incidents to local circumstancesevaluating where risk is greatest and allocating resource accordingly.
	A range of guidance on the drawing up of IRMPs has been issued to FRAs and is available on the Communities and Local Government website. The only recent change has been the revision of IRPM Guidance Note 4, which is not relevant to the location of fire stations and fire appliances.

Fire Services: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the total cost of delivery of the FiReControl project; and what estimates were made in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005,  (c) 2006,  (d) 2007 and  (e) 2008.

Shahid Malik: The current estimated overall cost of delivery of the FiReControl Project for  (a) 2004 was 120 million;  (b) 2005160 million;  (c) 2006190 million;  (d) 2007360 million; and  (e) 2008380 million.
	Early estimates of project costs did not include the funding that has been provided to FRAs to support local and regional implementation activity, the costs of the RCC building leases and the costs of equipment that will be installed in every fire station in England to support improved mobilisation.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data sets on  (a) council tax collection,  (b) business rate collection and  (c) other matters not contained in the national indicator set local authorities are required to provide to his Department.

Barbara Follett: The following data sets on the collection of  (a) council tax and  (b) business rates by local authorities are collected by the Local Government Finance directorate in Communities and Local Government:
	BRBudget Requirement
	NNDRNon Domestic Rates Pool
	QRCCouncil Tax and Non-Domestic Rate Collections
	CTBCouncil Tax Base.
	Examples of the forms used to collect the data from local authorities can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/usefulinformation/formstimetable/otherforms/
	 (c) Communities and Local Government does not hold a central register of information and datasets collected from local authorities and to produce a definitive list of such collections would involve disproportionate cost. However, where it has been possible to readily identify such collections, these are in the following list.
	In addition to council tax and business rates information, the following finance information is collected:
	CERCapital Estimates Return
	RA, SG and BIDRevenue Account Budgets and Business Improvement District Revenue Account Transactions
	CPRCapital Payments and Receipts
	QBQuarterly Borrowing and Lending
	QRWQuarterly Return of Wages and Salaries
	MBMonthly Borrowing and Lending
	RORevenue Outturn Suite
	CORCapital Outturn Suite
	WGAWhole of Government Accounts
	SF3Pension Funds Account
	CFRCapital Forecast Return
	BRBudget Requirement.
	Local authorities voluntarily provide the Department with the following data returns, which are collected for uses such as to inform national policy direction. Those with an asterisk include some information which is used to calculate national indicators:
	P2 Quarterly Housebuilding*
	P1BSales of Council Dwellings (quarterly)
	PIEHouseholds affected by Homeless provisions of 1996 housing act (quarterly)*
	PSFCombined development control PS1/PS2/FEE1 (quarterly)
	CPS1/2 and FEE2General Development Control and Fees received for planning applications (quarterly)
	GTCC_MGypsy and Traveller Caravan Count (collected bi-annually)
	AGBAnnual Green Belt (annual)
	HFRHousing Flows Reconciliation (annual)
	HSSAHousing Strategy Statistical Appendix (annual)
	BPAMBusiness Plan Annual Monitoring (annual)
	NROSHNational Register of Social Housing
	ROHLMORegister of Homes of Multiple Occupation
	ESEHElectronic Survey of Empty Homes
	Mortgage Rescue Scheme return
	Quarterly Prevent report (through Government Offices)
	Local authorities inform the Department how many rough sleepers they find when they carry out a street count. The total number of rough sleepers found on street counts is published annually.
	The following datasets are collected from Fire and Rescue Services:
	Data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (including NI 33 and NI 49, but additional information is available to CLG through the automated collection system for production of National Statistics.
	HR data
	Community Fire Safety
	Fire Protection
	Financial data
	Health and Safety.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average business rate bill has been in each Government office region in each year since 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: The average business rates bill in both England and in each Government Office region in each year since 1997-98, including the estimated average figures for 2009-10, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   
			   North East  North West  Yorkshire and the Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East of England  London  South East  South West  England 
			 1997-98 5,501 5,215 5,381 5,716 5,686 7,026 10,057 7,208 7,087 6,796 
			 1998-99 5,978 5,589 5,869 6,142 6,250 7,125 10,433 7,759 5,295 7,016 
			 1999-2000 6,159 5,770 6,005 6,251 6,487 7,080 9,792 7,796 5,412 6,998 
			 2000-01 6,968 6,825 6,954 7,237 7,588 8,096 12,033 9,212 6,332 8,264 
			 2001-02 7,305 7,273 7,433 7,670 7,756 8,476 12,842 9,705 6,570 8,714 
			 2002-03 7,498 7,646 7,664 7,846 8,003 8,685 13,753 10,045 6,658 9,071 
			 2003-04 7,518 7,708 7,623 7,893 8,055 8,620 14,124 10,053 6,614 9,137 
			 2004-05 7,701 7,793 7,773 7,955 8,192 8,740 14,484 10,252 6,662 9,301 
			 2005-06 8,367 8,086 8,317 8,477 8,672 9,575 15,705 11,124 7,195 9,997 
			 2006-07 8,704 8,496 8,479 9,021 8,906 10,003 15,886 11,192 7,538 10,275 
			 2007-08 8,941 8,719 8,501 9,189 9,031 9,999 15,733 11,210 7,655 10,330 
			 2008-09 9,452 9,473 9,288 9,946 9,743 10,804 17,482 12,325 8,279 11,274 
			 2009-10 10,157 10,159 10,009 10,610 10,602 11,519 19,120 13,190 8,816 12,145 
		
	
	The data are taken from NNDR returns submitted by billing authorities.
	Average business rate is calculated by dividing the net rate yield from local authority's lists by the number of hereditaments on local list as at 31 December of the previous year.
	Comparisons across regions and years may not be valid as the rateable values for individual properties, and hence actual rates bills, vary greatly. Changes in the figures for the years around 2000-01 are affected by transfers of properties from the central list to local lists, transfers of crown properties to local lists and the adjustments made to the multiplier at the time of the 2000 revaluation to take account of losses from appeals. Changes in the figures for the years around 2005-06 are also affected by adjustments made to the multiplier at the time of the 2005 revaluation.

Shops: Empty Property

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press release of 14 April 2009, on the empty shops revival plan, how many of the proposals referred to have been adopted by local authorities to date.

Barbara Follett: There has been widespread interest in the 'Looking After Our Town Centres' guide and there have been over 11,000 downloads of the document from our website since it was published in April this year. We are delivering the support we promised to help town centres, including the announcement in August this year of 3 million funding to help high streets that have been hardest hit by the recession.
	It is for local authorities to decide how to promote their town centres. We have highlighted approaches that are already being taken, but councils are not required to provide monitoring information to CLG. We continue to discuss issues affecting town centres with stakeholders and have supported good practice events. We know that several councils are adopting approaches inspired by the guide like using empty shops to display art work or information on the local area; seasonal festivals to attract visitors; free car parking on Saturdays, pop-up shops to try out new retail ideas, and fresh marketing initiatives.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much in central Government grants, including  (a) specific and  (b) special grants, was given to local authorities for (i) waste collection and (ii) waste disposal in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available.

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
	In 2008-09 Defra directly provided 78.2 million in funding to local authorities outside London via the Waste Infrastructure Capital Grant. 60 million will be made available to London authorities through the London Waste and Recycling Fund for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. These unringfenced capital grants will be paid to upper tier and unitary authorities to enable them to set up the necessary waste infrastructure to help England meet landfill targets.
	Defra also provides financial support to local authorities through Private Finance Initiative credits to help accelerate the building of the infrastructure needed to treat residual waste without compromising efforts to minimise waste and increase recycling levels. To date 2.5 billion has been allocated to 37 projects. Further information can be found on Defra's website.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) provided a total of 2.68 million to local authorities during 2008-09. The funds were spent on local communications campaigns specifically to improve communications with householders about local recycling services and to promote the 'Love Food Hate Waste' campaign. WRAP has no remit in relation to waste disposal and has not, therefore, provided any funds to local authorities in relation to it.

Insolvency

Mark Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Statements of Insolvency Practice (SIP) 16 reports have not provided sufficient information to creditors on valuation and marketing; and how many insolvency practitioners have been recorded as failing to comply with SIP 16 reporting requirements.

Ian Lucas: holding answer 14 October 2009
	The Insolvency Service does not record SIP 16 information in a format that is readily able to identify how many SIP 16 reports have not provided sufficient information to creditors on valuation and marketing.
	To answer this part of the question would involve examining hundreds of separate reports. To determine which of those reports did not provide sufficient information regarding valuation and/or marketing would require significant staff resources, which would be in excess of the 750 disproportionate cost threshold.
	The Insolvency Service published a report on its' first six months monitoring of SIP 16 in July 2009. The report indicated that SIP 16 information provided in relation to 202 out of a total of 572 companies entering administration during the period was deemed to be not fully compliant. The Insolvency Service's monitoring of SIP 16 information is continuing and a further report will be published in the new year.
	It should be noted that the number of insolvency practitioners involved in the provision of non-compliant SIP 16 information is not the same as the figure indicated above. This is because the majority of insolvency practitioners undertaking pre-pack administrations, and therefore providing SIP 16 information, are appointed on multiple appointments. In addition, the majority of administration appointments are held by more than one insolvency practitioner on a joint basis.

UK Innovation Fund

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2093W, on the UK Innovation Fund, which budgets within his Department other than the Strategic Investment Fund he will draw on to accumulate the remaining 25 million for the UK Innovation Fund; and how much he will draw from each budget.

David Lammy: holding answer 14 October 2009
	As a trading fund the Intellectual Property Office has built up retained earnings of around 55 million. The Department has identified these reserves as a source of the remaining 25 million funding for the UK Innovation Investment Fund. Drawing on these reserves as an equity withdrawal will enable the Department to invest in the fund whilst continuing to meet its other commitments.

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on overnight accommodation for  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials while overseas in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: Providing information on the cost of accommodation overseas could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	Overseas trips undertaken by Ministers and costing more than 500 are published annually at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx
	The list for 2008-09 was published on 16 July 2009. Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively.

IVF

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to increase the availability of fertility treatment at primary care trusts that do not currently provide funding for at least one full cycle of in vitro fertilisation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what percentage of primary care trusts which provide funding for at least one full cycle of in vitro fertilisation do so for people within the recommended age range for treatment of between 23 and 39 years of age;
	(3)  which primary care trusts provide funding for one full cycle of in vitro fertilisation for women aged 39 years and six months only;
	(4)  what percentage of primary care trusts provide funding for people to receive  (a) more than one full cycle of in vitro fertilisation (IVF),  (b) one full cycle of IVF and  (c) less than one full cycle of IVF; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The provision of fertility treatment by primary care trusts (PCTs) is determined at local level. The Government support the clinical guidelines on the assessment and treatment for people with fertility problems produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), and has made it clear that PCTs are expected to move towards full implementation of the guideline. Many have already made firm progress (the number of PCTs offering three cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment has increased by 22 percentage points between 2007 and 2008) and others continue to develop their policies.
	Responses to a survey carried out in early 2009 and published on the Department's website:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Fertility/index.htm
	in June 2009showed that in 2008 50 per cent. of PCTs provided either two or three full cycles of IVF, with 25 per cent. providing one full cycle and 22 per cent. providing one fresh cycle. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The North Staffordshire PCT reported offering treatment in exceptional cases only. The North Yorkshire and York PCT is the only PCT providing funding for one cycle of IVF for women age 39 years and six months only. We understand that this was instituted as a temporary measure from 2007 pending a review of provision across the Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority.
	88 per cent. of PCTs offer IVF for eligible couples across the full NICE recommended range for treatment, i.e. where the woman is aged 23-39.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) NHS trusts are required to make any financial returns to his Department other than those under the PFR3 and TFR3 data collections.

Mike O'Brien: Primary care trusts and national health service trusts are required to submit the following financial returns via the Financial Information Management System (FIMS), in addition to the PFR3 and TFR3 collections:
	financial monitoring and accounts (FMA) forms;
	programme budgeting (primary care trusts only);
	FIMS(FHS)4 returnsGeneral Medical Services (primary care trusts only);
	FIMS(FHS)3 returnsGeneral Ophthalmic Services (primary care trusts only); and
	TFR6ambulance services expenditure (ambulance trusts only).

School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) schools and  (b) children have received free fruit and vegetables under the school fruit and vegetable scheme; how much fruit has been provided under the scheme; what account is taken of pupil absence rates in provision of fruit to schools under the scheme; how much the scheme has cost in each year of its operation; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In the year to September 2009 the school fruit and vegetable scheme (SFVS) has distributed around 440 million pieces of fruit and vegetable each year to over two million children in over 16,300 schools. In April 2004 the Department took over the scheme from the Big Lottery Fund, and the funding for each year for figures available is as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2004-05 23.6 
			 2005-06 37.4 
			 2006-07 36.2 
			 2007-08 36.9 
			 2008-09 42.6 
		
	
	Every local education authority (LEA) has its own absenteeism rate, and the national health service supply chain, who runs the SFVS, applies this to the number of children eligible at schools within all LEAs and, where necessary, reduces the fruit delivery by this amount.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 765W, on swine flu, who will receive payment for giving housebound patients vaccinations; how much will be paid for each such vaccination; and from which budget.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 19 October 2009
	General practitioner practices will receive 5.25 for each dose of swine flu vaccination administered to patients on their registered list who fall into one or more of the clinically at-risk priority groups announced by the Chief Medical Officer on 13 August 2009. This includes housebound patients who are on their list. The price per dose reflects the overall cost practices will incur in vaccinating their at-risk patients. The Department will provide additional funding to cover the cost of vaccinating patients in these priority groups.

Burma: Famine

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the of the severity of the famine in Chin state in Burma; and what relief his Department is providing for those affected by the famine.

Michael Foster: Over the last two years, rat infestations have exacerbated chronic food shortages suffered by many people in Chin State. In September 2009, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that more than 19,000 households in 303 villages had been severely affected by the infestations. In response to the crisis, the Department for International Development (DFID) has approved funding of 880,000 towards emergency aid delivered through the United Nations Development Programme, WFP and their local partners. WFP estimates that by September, nearly 88,000 people had benefited from this aid. We are keeping the situation under close review.
	We are also considering, in consultation with the United Nations and other donors, how best to address longer-term food security needs in Chin State and other parts of Burma.

Pacific Ocean Islands: Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department plans to send to victims of the recent tsunami and earthquakes in the South Pacific.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided 100,000 to help address the immediate effects of the tsunami in Samoa. This was part of the co-ordinated international aid effort to support the Samoan Red Cross Society (SRCS).
	The SRCS has opened five temporary shelter sites and is distributing clean water, first aid supplies, tarpaulins and other relief to those affected.

Tony Blair Faith Foundation

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has provided to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation; for which events run by the Foundation his Department has provided sponsorship; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not provided any funding directly to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (TBFF).
	We have provided 30,000 to World Vision, who are co-sponsoring a seminar series with the TBFF focusing on the theme of faiths in development. Oxfam and Islamic Relief have also contributed funds to the series. These seminars are taking place at the Royal Society of Arts in London from 7 September to 12 November.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate has been made of the number of people displaced by fighting in northern Yemen; and what assistance the Government are providing to Yemen for humanitarian relief.

Douglas Alexander: The United Nations (UN) estimates that as many as 150,000 people have now been displaced by the conflict in northern Yemen. Large numbers of these are women and children who are especially in need of protection and security.
	On 9 October, the Department for International Development (DFID) announced 2 million for humanitarian aid to those who have been driven out of their homes by the ongoing fighting. This funding, delivered through the UN Flash Appeal, will be used to provide water, sanitation and hygiene services, food, health care, assistance to malnourished children, and shelter and relief items. It will also help to reduce immediate security and protection threats, and boost co-ordination within the humanitarian response effort.

Care Homes: Security

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received from local authorities on the physical security of vulnerable people in local authority care.

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received from local authorities on the physical security of vulnerable people in local authority care; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 7 July 2009
	All children's homes must comply with regulations and national minimum standards. These require that premises must be fit and suitable for achieving the home's statement of purpose. Every home must be secure from unauthorised access. This could include, for example, using electronic surveillance to monitor those who enter and leave the premises or having ground floor windows that can be opened only part way.
	Where a local authority looks after a child, including those that have been trafficked, then they are responsible for identifying a placement that will be appropriate to meeting their needs, including their need to be kept safe from any likely harm.
	On 1 July 2009, we published new Statutory Guidance on children who run away and go missing from home or care. This sets out the measures local authorities must take whenever a child that they look after goes missing from their care placement and includes specific information about managing support for especially vulnerable groups of looked after childrensuch as those asylum seeking children who may have been trafficked into the UK.

Children: Day Care

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many nursery nurses per head of population there were in Northamptonshire in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: This data is not available. However, national data on the numbers and characteristics of staff in the child care and early years work force is collected through the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey. The latest survey to be published in the series is for 2008 and was published at the end of September 2009. This can be found at the following website address:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectld=14590type=5resultspage=1

Children: Day Care

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many nursery places per head of population there were in Northamptonshire in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department publishes information on the part-time equivalent number of free early education places filled by three and four-year-olds in maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers. This is derived by counting children taking up 12 and a half hours per week as one place, 10 hours per week as 0.8 places, seven and a half hours per week as 0.6 places, five hours per week as 0.4 places and two and a half hours per week as 0.2 places. Table 1 shows the number of part-time equivalent places filled by three and four-year-olds in Northamptonshire local authority from 2000 to 2009.
	Information on nursery school places per head of population has not been included. This is because data on places available is not collected; only data on places filled is available and as children can access their free entitlement across different local authority areas, part time equivalent places are not on a comparable basis with the local authority population figures. Population figures at this level of disaggregation are also not as reliable as at the national level.
	
		
			  Table 1: Part-time equivalent number of free early education places( 1,2)  filled by three( 3)  and four( 3) -year-olds, local authority: Northamptonshire 
			  Position in January each year  Number of three and four-year-olds 
			 2000(4) 10,100 
			 2001(4) 11,000 
			 2002(5) 11,700 
			 2003(6) 13,000 
			 2004(6) 14,100 
			 2005(6) 14,000 
			 2006(6) 13,800 
			 2007(6) 14,300 
			 2008(6) 14,600 
			 2009(6) 15,100 
			 (1) A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. (3) Age of all children taken at 31 December in the previous calendar year. (4) Headcount of children aged three and four from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise. (5) Part-time equivalent number of three and four-year-olds from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise. (5) Part-time equivalent number of three and four-year-olds from the Early Years Census and School Census.

Children: Social Services

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list serious case reviews which have been performed following the death of a child since 2005, citing only the month and year of the death, the local authority with jurisdiction and a reference code.

Dawn Primarolo: In April 2007 Ofsted assumed responsibility for the inspection of children's social care and local authorities became responsible for notifying Ofsted of serious incidents involving children. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) developed a new database to hold information on such incidents, and data on the numbers of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) following the notification of a death or serious injury of a child is available from 1 April 2007.
	A previous parliamentary answer23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 442Windicated that, of all notifications received between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008 of serious child care incidents, 89 SCRs had been initiated where a child died and abuse or neglect was known or suspected to be a factor.
	Data currently held by the Department as at 8 October 2009 indicate that, of all notifications received between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 of serious child care incidents, 75 SCRs had been initiated where a child died and abuse or neglect was known or suspected to be a factor.
	A further three incidents are awaiting a decision. These figures are broken down by local authority in the following table along with the data from the previous parliamentary answer.
	The decision about whether to undertake an SCR can change as more information about the case becomes available, for example, through inquests in to the cause of death. Therefore, the data given in this and the previous answer are likely to change slightly over time.
	It is not possible to give information broken down by the date of death (by month) because this would significantly increase the risk that individual children and their families might be identified and could prejudice the interests and safety of children and their families.
	
		
			  Local authority  Number of Serious Case Reviews commissioned as a result of a child death, notified between  1 April 2007 and  31 March 2008( 1)  Number of Serious Case Reviews commissioned as a result of a child death, notified between  1 April 2008 and  31 March 2009( 2) 
			  North East   
			 Darlington 0 0 
			 Durham 0 2 
			 Gateshead 0 0 
			 Hartlepool 0 1 
			 Middlesbrough 0 0 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2 0 
			 North Tyneside 0 1 
			 Northumberland 0 1 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1 0 
			 South Tyneside 3 0 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 0 0 
			 Sunderland 0 0 
			
			  North West   
			 Blackburn with Darwen 2 0 
			 Blackpool 0 0 
			 Bolton 0 0 
			 Bury 0 0 
			 Cheshire 0 2 
			 Cumbria 0 0 
			 Halton 1 1 
			 Knowsley 1 0 
			 Lancashire 1 3 
			 Liverpool 2 1 
			 Manchester 2 2 
			 Oldham 0 0 
			 Rochdale 0 0 
			 Salford 0 1 
			 Sefton 0 0 
			 St Helens 1 0 
			 Stockport 1 0 
			 Tameside 0 0 
			 Trafford 0 0 
			 Warrington 0 0 
			 Wigan 0 1 
			 Wirral 0 0 
			
			  Yorks and the Humber   
			 Barnsley 0 0 
			 Bradford 0 0 
			 Calderdale 2 0 
			 Doncaster 3 2 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 0 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 1 0 
			 Kirklees 1 2 
			 Leeds 4 2 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1 0 
			 North Lincolnshire 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 1 0 
			 Rotherham 0 1 
			 Sheffield 3 0 
			 Wakefield 1 1 
			 York 0 0 
			
			  East Midlands   
			 Derby 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 1 0 
			 Leicester 3 0 
			 Leicestershire 0 1 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 
			 Northamptonshire 0 1 
			 Nottingham 2 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 0 
			 Rutland 0 0 
			
			  West Midlands   
			 Birmingham 2 5 
			 Coventry 2 1 
			 Dudley 1 0 
			 Herefordshire 1 1 
			 Sandwell 2 1 
			 Shropshire 1 1 
			 Solihull 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 1 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 0 0 
			 Telford and Wrekin 0 0 
			 Walsall 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton 1 1 
			 Worcestershire 2 2 
			
			  East of England   
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 1 
			 Essex 1 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 3 
			 Luton 1 0 
			 Norfolk 2 0 
			 Peterborough 0 1 
			 Southend-on-Sea 0 0 
			 Suffolk 2 0 
			 Thurrock 1 0 
			
			  London   
			  Inner London   
			 Camden 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 
			 Hackney 0 1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1 0 
			 Haringey 1 0 
			 Islington 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 0 
			 Lambeth 0 0 
			 Lewisham 0 1 
			 Newham 0 2 
			 Southwark 2 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 1 0 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 
			 Westminster 0 1 
			
			  Outer London   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 0 
			 Barnet 1 1 
			 Bexley 0 2 
			 Brent 0 0 
			 Bromley 0 1 
			 Croydon 2 0 
			 Ealing 0 0 
			 Enfield 0 1 
			 Greenwich 0 1 
			 Harrow 0 0 
			 Havering 0 1 
			 Hillingdon 0 0 
			 Hounslow 0 0 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 0 
			 Merton 0 0 
			 Redbridge 1 1 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 0 
			 Sutton 0 1 
			 Waltham Forest 1 0 
			
			  South East   
			 Bracknell Forest 0 0 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 0 
			 Buckinghamshire 1 2 
			 East Sussex 0 1 
			 Hampshire 0 1 
			 Isle of Wight 1 0 
			 Kent 2 2 
			 Medway 0 1 
			 Milton Keynes 1 0 
			 Oxfordshire 0 1 
			 Portsmouth 1 0 
			 Reading 0 1 
			 Slough 0 1 
			 Southampton 1 0 
			 Surrey 1 0 
			 West Berkshire 1 0 
			 West Sussex 0 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 0 
			 Wokingham 0 0 
			
			  South West   
			 Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 
			 Bournemouth 0 0 
			 Bristol, City of 1 0 
			 Cornwall 1 1 
			 Devon 2 0 
			 Dorset 0 1 
			 Gloucestershire 1 2 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 
			 North Somerset 0 1 
			 Plymouth 0 0 
			 Poole 0 1 
			 Somerset 1 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 0 0 
			 Swindon 0 0 
			 Torbay 0 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 
			  89 75 
			 (1) Information from previous parliamentary answer (Official Report 23 February 2009, column 442W (2 )There are three cases which await a decision)

Education Maintenance Allowance: Pay

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on education maintenance allowance bonuses in 2008-09; and how much he expects his Department to spend in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: In 2008-09 the total spent on all types of EMA bonus in England was 80,505,540.
	The Learning and Skills Council's Annual Statement of Priorities, to be published later in the autumn, will set out total planned future expenditure for EMA and other learner support programmes.

Education: Young People

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on the 14-19 engagement programme in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Iain Wright: In the 2009/10 academic year, funds totalling 19,334,000 have been allocated to 142 local authorities to pilot the Key Stage 4 Engagement programme. Overall, this pilot programme will make provision for almost 28,000 learners who are, or at risk of becoming, disengaged from learning and who are not achieving as well as they should be.

Office of the Schools Adjudicator

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the operational cost of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator was in each financial year since its inception; and what it has been in 2009-10 to date;
	(2)  how many staff are employed in the Office of the Schools Adjudicator;
	(3)  how many objections to school closures have been referred to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator in each year since the Office was established; and how many of these were upheld;
	(4)  how many objections to school closures are before the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

Diana Johnson: The Office of the Schools Adjudicator's Annual report is expected from the Chief Schools Adjudicator on 2 November 2009. This will be a comprehensive report which will answer many of the questions asked which relate to this year.
	The operational cost of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Operational cost  () 
			 1999/2000 849,000 
			 2000/01 797,000 
			 2001/02 569,000 
			 2002/03 432,000 
			 2003/04 637,000 
			 2004/05 689,00 
			 2005/06 517,000 
			 2006/07 605,000 
			 2007/08 655,000 
			 2008/09 756,000 
		
	
	This financial year (2009/10), the operational costs of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator has so far amounted to 295,000.
	There are currently nine Adjudicators (including the Chief Schools Adjudicator), and seven full-time equivalent administrative staff working within the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.
	Data on objections made to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator against a school closure is only available from 2008/09. In that year, four objections were referred to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, none were upheld. No referrals have been made in the current year.
	There are no objections to school closures currently before the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.
	The Office of the Schools Adjudicator is currently dealing with three statutory proposal cases involving the closing of schools.

Parents: Advisory Services

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many calls there have been to the Parent Know How helpline in each month since it was established; what the cost of the helpline has been; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Under our Parent Know How programme we are funding seven third sector organisations to provide helpline support for parents in England. There is not a separate single Parent Know How helpline. The funding for these helplines, for a three-year period, commenced on 1 April 2008. Management data, including the number of recorded calls made to the helplines, were collected on a quarterly basis in the first year (1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009). In the current year, we are now collecting this data on a monthly basis. The following table shows a breakdown of the number of recorded calls made to each helpline between 1 April 2008 and 30 September 2009.
	
		
			  2008-09: Recorded calls made 
			   Helpline 
			   Advisory Centre for Education  Contact a Family  Children's Legal Centre  Family Rights Group  Gingerbread  Parentline Plus  Young Minds 
			 Q1 33,395 4,361 4,978 6,498 2,544 47,033 2,502 
			 Q2 10,669 6,598 6,752 5,560 2,923 40,140 2,018 
			 Q3 15,249 4,575 7,070 4,211 2,434 39,266 2,437 
			 Q4 21,298 5,815 9,008 6,957 3,095 39,430 2,868 
			 Total 80,611 21,349 27,808 23,226 10,996 165,869 9,825 
			 Overall total 339,684 
		
	
	
		
			  2009-10 : Recorded calls made  to 30 September 
			   Helpline 
			   Advisory Centre for Education  Contact a Family  Children's Legal Centre  Family Rights Group  Gingerbread  Parentline Plus  Young Minds 
			 April 7,476 1,427 2,043 1,861 847 12,322 599 
			 May 7,637 1,329 1,819 2,087 724 13,511 678 
			 June 6,359 1,336 1,938 2,219 363 11,970 778 
			 July 4,202 1,165 2,420 1,857 920 13,169 904 
			 August 1,023 1,361 1,188 1,145 857 11,420 526 
			 September 3,578 1,428 2,066 1,562 1,019 12,768 914 
			 Total 30,275 8,046 11,474 10,731 4,730 75,160 4,399 
			 Overall total 144,815 
		
	
	The third sector organisations each receive grant funding. The total grant funding claimed between 1 April 2008 and 30 September 2009 was 5,821,814.

Crown Estates: Parliamentary Questions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 6 May 2009,  Official Report, column 178W, on trade unions, on what matters relating to the Crown Estate he takes responsibility for answering Parliamentary Questions.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Crown Estate's role is defined by statute through The Crown Estate Act 1961. Treasury ministers answer parliamentary questions on Crown Estate issues covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, on the advice of the Crown Estate Office.
	The Secretary of State for Scotland handles matters dealing with The Crown Estate in Scotland.

Valuation Office: Cole Layer Trumble

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1513W, on the Valuation Office: Cole Layer Trumble, how much money was paid by his Department to Cole Layer Trumble/Tyler Technologies in each of the last six years.

Ian Pearson: The following amounts have been paid on behalf of the Valuation Office Agency to Cole Layer Trumble/Tyler Technologies in each of the last six years:
	
		
			   Total () 
			 2003-04 589,195.00 
			 2004-05 1,253,100.08 
			 2005-06 1,334,182.61 
			 2006-07 481,646.51 
			 2007-08 54,806.57 
			 2008-09 0.00 
		
	
	These figures exclude non-recoverable VAT.

Valuation Office: Information and Communications Technology

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ludlow, of 14 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2135W, on the Valuation Office: ICT, what the breakdown by category of expenditure was of the 6.7 million of expenditure on the automated valuation model since September 2005; and which Minister authorised that expenditure.

Ian Pearson: The breakdown of the 6.7 million expenditure is as follows:
	
		
			  Item   (excluding VAT) 
			 IT development and consultancy 4,300,000 
			 IT support costs 2,400,000 
			 Total 6,700,000 
		
	
	This expenditure was originally approved by the former Minister for Local Government in 2005.